Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Holdings Decreased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,465 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,775 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EBC. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its position in Eastern Bankshares by 1,155.9% in the 3rd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 4,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 3,988 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

EBC opened at $19.03 on Tuesday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.86 and a twelve month high of $19.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $17.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.62. The firm has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.20 and a beta of 0.89.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $299.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $215.92 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 38.00% and a return on equity of 4.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This is a boost from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 18.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Eastern Bankshares from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $18.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In related news, President Quincy Lee Miller sold 12,676 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.66, for a total value of $211,182.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Eastern Bankshares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. The company provides deposit accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time certificates of deposit accounts.